The same happened with Ms. Ria when in recent past she hired an electrician. She was left dumbfounded. In a good way. The electrician arrived just on time and fixed the wires and faults within an hour. He was paid 323 bucks by her, and she did not have to waste a second because she had already pulled the change as the invoice value had already reached her when she booked him for service repair. The invoice mail popped in her mailbox within a blink of an eye after the plumber’s few taps on his tablet. She booked services from EasyFix which is an online platform which connects consumers with service providers – a great example of a hyperlocal mobile app which used the real-time alert update from Ms. Ria and responded based on her location.
Kevin visits Starbucks at least once a day. The large coffeehouse chain’s mobile app figures out his presence there. The application pulls his loyalty card and simply applies discounts he earns. Starbucks also knows that Kevin does not like coffee – he prefers having ‘Chai’ there. Starbucks is a great example of a company using GeoLocation technology for collecting unprecedented amounts of data about customers and then using it for selling products by tailoring rewards, perks etc.
Let’s see now how big a difference these hyperlocal local apps are making in an economy. But before that, let’s quickly check out Wikipedia’s definition for Hyperlocal apps:
“Hyperlocal connotes information oriented around a well-defined community with its primary focus directed toward the concerns of the population in that community.”
A – DNA of On-Demand Economy
On Demand’ economy, is also popularly known as a ‘Sharing’ economy. Hyperlocal apps are long-anticipated next frontier in mobile technology and are creating tech-enhanced convenience economy. This on-demand economy is selling a lifestyle, and this lifestyle is constantly innovating itself. And this is what we are going to talk about in this blog- the technology behind it.
Hyperlocal Apps using GeoLocation functionality pair the preferences of consumer and location in order to gain real insight into customer preferences. Certain apps like on-demand taxi booking app Uber and Lyft, ReservationHop, OpenTable, Fixed for parking tickets, washio and FlyCleaners for laundry services are persistently reminding us that our time is very valuable and more importantly we deserve luxury, no matter where we are physically located. And the investment for GeoLocation technology is worth every penny.
Once we are through with the understanding of hyperlocal apps and their impact on the economy, let’s see which all businesses are harnessing the usefulness of hyperlocal apps.
B – Businesses Using Hyperlocal Functionality Extensively:
On-demand economy has given birth to a new business model of- Hyper Localization. The biggest benefit of Hyperlocation technology is the ability to deliver relevant offers to customers which entail the right product at the right place and at the right time. If the person walks in the mall or within certain radius, he at once gets a ping from the company with an offer that is relevant to him.
There are certain apps like few check-in and dating apps like Foursquare’s Tinder and Swarm becomes unusable if you do not allow them to know your location. Hence, almost all the hyperlocal mobile apps are asking for permissions to access the location data of the phone. Let’s have a close look at the business brands who are using substantially utilizing the power of hyperlocal functionality in geo-localization of apps.
Some of these hyperlocal startup ventures have been making it big in the recent times. These home-grown solutions are solving local problems in a very unique manner. These are Grofers, TinyOwl, BigBasket, Swiggy, LocalOye, ZopNow, PepperTap, Yumist, LetsBinge and the list is countless. Let’s see the domain specific hyperlocal mobile apps:
B 1- Commuting and Transportation :
Commuting can be an extremely frustrating experience sometimes. No matter how many times you have travelled to the same destination, there are often many uninvited obstacles. These could be run-time meeting schedule, road traffic, road delays, train traffic and so many others. I have been knowing many acquaintances who are completely dependent on online taxi apps. One of my friend does not own a car of his own, instead he simply fell in love with RedBus and Uber.
Even the study shows that commuters who use online taxi booking hyperlocal mobile apps tend to have a better time getting from point 1 to point 2. Some exclusive commuting apps which simplify easy travelling or ticket booking or traffic listing are listed below (these definitely vary in features region or country wise):
Online Taxi Booking Apps:
- 1- Uber
- 2-mytaxi
- Easy Taxi
- iCabbi and many more
Online Bus or Train Ticket Booking Apps:
- 1- Redbus
- 2- Easybook
- 3- cleartrip
Online Traffic Updates Apps:
- 1- Waze
- 2- Inrix Traffic
- 3- iTraffic
- 4-Sigalert
B 2- Food and Beverage Industry:
The technology has made a mark in the e-commerce, real-estate and service sector and ever-hungry entrepreneurs have satiated their appetite by developing food and beverage mobile apps. From the end-users point of view, food-related mobile can be broadly classified into three types : Food Ordering Mobile Apps, Restaurant Finder/Booking Mobile Apps, Table Booking Mobile Apps. All these applications are based on hyperlocal functionality hence are completely location based mobile apps.
Certain Food and Beverage Mobile Apps even allow you to book a taxi to take you home when your meal gets finished. Integrating technology in the form of Mobile Apps with Food Industry increase their sales besides opening up the door for new partnerships (and thereon sponsorships) and allow customers to order on the move and order in advance. Some great food and beverage mobile apps which effortlessly allow customers to enjoy uninterrupted food service:
Online Food Ordering Mobile Apps:
- 1- GrubHub
- 2- TinyOwl App
- 3- FoodPanda App
- 4- Tapingo App
Online Table Booking:
- 1-OpenTable
- 2-Table 8
- 3- TABLEAPP
- 4- Zomato (Rest of the world – restaurant finder apps. In UK also as Table Booking app – as per recent info updated).
Online Restaurant Finder Mobile Apps:
- 1-UrbanSpoon
- 2-GoMeals
- 3- Yelp
- 4- FoodSpotting
B 3- Health and Medical Industry :
Revolution in healthcare industry in the form of mobile devices, mobile apps and wearable technology has disrupted and transformed healthcare and fitness over last few years. In this digital marketing community the small medical offices seems extinct now. This changing landscape is leading many physicians to rethink the way they are marketing their practices and as a result this is creating new opportunity for hyperlocal vendors. Location based applications in healthcare are growing like expeditiously. Global Location Based Services (LBS) in the healthcare industry are expected to grow by 31.23 percent from 2015-2019.
Mobility platforms not only benefit patients by providing streamlined way to experiencing hospitality services but they are changing the way consumers navigate the healthcare industry. There are many hyperlocal platforms that consumers can use to find and purchase local healthcare services.
Online Doctors on Call:
- 1- DOCTORALIA APP
- 2-Medicast
- 3-DocASAP
- 4-ZocDoc
Online Electronic Health Apps:
- 1- Practice Fusion
- 2- iCare
- 3-Kareo
- 4-iSalus
Online Pharmacy Apps:
- 1- OTC Guide
- 2-CVS Pharmacy
- 3- Walgreens App
- 4- Express Scripts
B 4- eCommerce and Shopping Industry:
Hyperlocal marketplace has transformed the retail landscape. Retail technology innovations are ranging from hyperlocal deals apps, online shopping and much beyond that. In this ultra-competitive retail market scenario big fishes like Amazon, Flipkart, Google and other shopping portals have disrupted the glory days of brick and mortar. Many retail and mall developers are busy deploying latest technologies to completely engage today’s sophisticated shoppers.
Shopping is now easier more than ever and apart from just shopping we are able to check latest prices in multiple catalogs, comparison of prices, special offers, promotions, coupons, discounts reviews and best price offer options. Let’s have a close look on some ecommerce and shopping hyperlocal mobile apps which are bringing both online and offline retailers to a common platform.
Online Shopping Mobile Apps:
- 1- Google Shopper
- 2- Amazon
- 3-Shopcity
- 4-Shopify
Deals and Discounts Mobile Apps:
- 1-Groupon
- 2-LivingSocial
- 3-SaleSorter
- 4-BuyVia
Consumer Behavior and Analytics Mobile Apps:
- 1-Pandora
- 2-PayPal
- 3-RetailNext
- 4- Euclid Analytics
Price Comparison Mobile Apps:<>
- 1- PriceGrabber
- 2-ShopSavvy
- 3-PriceBlink
- 4-RedLaser
B 5- Service Dealing Mobile Apps:
We all know the hyperlocal is not now a hot new buzzword in retail hallways instead along with delivering meals and groceries on demand at the customer’s doorstep the service industry is now connecting households with electricians, plumbers and other service providers. Whether it is beauty service, home tutors, financial advisor, microfinance service provider, car mechanic, real estate agent, insurance agent, plumber, electrician, carpenter, yoga instructor, gym trainer, every service is at our doorstep…
Local Dealers (Utility) Mobile Apps:
- 1-HomeAdvisor
- 2-Housejoy
- 3-Zepper
- 4-YourMechanic
- 5- Timesaverz
- 6-Mrright
- 7-Helpr
- 8-TutorToGo
Financial Services Mobile Apps:
- 1- LumiKnow
- 2-CleverFox
- 3-Microfin360
Beauty and Fitness Mobile Apps:
- 1- Glam
- 2-Spruce
- 3- StyleBee
- 4-PRIV
- 5-Workout Trainer
- 6-Gym Trainer
C Windup Session:
Hence, there is plethora of applications in all platforms (iOS, Android and other too) in Mobility ecosystem, name it from morning cup of coffee to bedtime sleep, the list is never ending. Dating apps and event management apps are also taking baby steps to bring vivid and beauty to this magnanimous affair. I will not be surprised to see that we will be installing an app in our smartphone who will be managing other over smart apps. Let’s see who will be the mastermind behind the master plan. (All copyrights for this idea are solely reserved to me 🙂 )
I have been rigorously researching on hyperlocal functionality and my recent blogs holds in-depth technical knowledge related development and deployment of hyperlocal apps. With a team of professionals we have made 40+ mobile apps using hyperlocal functionality.
As a user what would other genres (or domains) of Hyperlocal Mobile Apps you think can be utilized in apps of your smartphone?
References: Yourstory, Doctoralia, Zocdoc, Streetfightmag
Rachit Agarwal
